


Painted Flowers Under Long Sleeves

by LadyTabatha



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bernie is a mess, F/M, Felix is probably ooc, How Do I Tag, I don't know what I'm doing, Rated T because I'm paranoid, felix is bad at feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:54:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22480603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyTabatha/pseuds/LadyTabatha
Summary: At first, Bernadetta longed for a soulmate. Later, she hoped that she didn't have one, and took comfort in the fact that no one had ever written back.//Felix knows he has a soulmate. He just doesn't care.//Or, a self-indulgent Bernadetta/Felix soulmate AU
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Bernadetta von Varley
Comments: 6
Kudos: 126





	Painted Flowers Under Long Sleeves

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sakuramae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakuramae/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Varley Files](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21288815) by [sakuramae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakuramae/pseuds/sakuramae). 



At first, Bernadetta hoped that she had a soulmate. A little more than half the population of Fódlan did, so the odds were slightly in her favor. She painted flowers on her arms with her smallest brush, waiting for the day that she’ll look down and see scribbled writing or elegant calligraphy or someone else’s art. She dreamed of what he’d be like. She was sure that one day he’d arrive to sweep her off her feet and carry her away.

Years passed, and the day didn’t come.

She began to hope that she doesn’t have a soulmate. If he wasn’t a nobleman, her father would… She doesn’t want to think about that. Even if he was a nobleman, she would only be a disappointment. Who would want to be soulmates with stupid, clumsy, unmarriageable Bernie? No one, that’s who. She consoled herself with the fact that no one had ever responded to her flowers or hastily written reminders. She probably doesn’t have a soulmate, and that’s a good thing.

She still painted on her arms beneath her long sleeves, though, secure in the knowledge that no one would see.

\----------

Felix had never tried to contact his soulmate. He knew that she was out there, and that she liked to paint flowers, and that she had nice handwriting. But he doesn’t need a soulmate. At first, it’s because he wants to be just like his brother. Glenn doesn’t have a soulmate, so Felix doesn’t want one either.

After, it’s because a soulmate would be a distraction. Tales of true love are like tales of chivalry: worthless nonsense. He’d rather hold a sword than a woman’s hand.

He wore long sleeves to avoid questions. No one would understand why he didn’t just write back. They’d probably call him selfish, or berate him for ignoring her. He ignored her anyway, dismissing a nagging hint of guilt at the back of his mind. He practiced his swordplay and trained himself incessantly.

Maybe one day he’d want to meet her, would try to find her, but he doubted it. She kept painting flowers, and he kept letting her believe that no one would see.

\----------

At the monastery, Bernadetta hardly ever left her room. She preferred to hide inside, sewing and painting. But the new Golden Deer professor slowly lured her out, persuading her to interact with the other students, if only a little bit. She slowly formed friendships with those around her, like Dorothea and Marianne and Mercedes.

Perhaps the strangest of these friendships was with Felix. He still scared her, but she’s seen him smile when he’s playing with a cat. Anyone with a smile like that, she thought, can’t be all bad. She wanted to see that smile again. So they slowly grew closer until she was almost comfortable around him.

Until one day, he ripped his left sleeve in a sparring match with Sylvain. She saw the tear later, while talking to him, and offered to fix it. She was carefully pinning the fabric together over his left forearm when she caught a glimpse of flowers. Very, very familiar flowers.

“Sorry, I gotta go!” She blurted frantically, and bolted. She ignored the way he called after her, asking what was wrong. She locked herself in her room, and refused to come out for anything except for classes. Even then it was only because she didn’t want a confrontation with Hubert. She may have opened up a little, but he still terrified her.

Felix seemed to be tracking her down, though. He clearly wanted an explanation for what happened.

_Oh, Bernie, what are you gonna do?_

\----------

Felix had a mission. Bernadetta had been acting strange for over a week now. It almost seemed like she was scared of him again, and that bothered him for reasons he couldn’t explain. He told himself it was because her panicked squeaks were annoying, but he knew that wasn’t quite it. He ignored the twinge in his chest whenever he saw her run away.

Whatever the reason, the fact remained: Bernadetta was avoiding him, and he didn’t like it. So his mission was to figure out why.

He knew that she still attended her classes, but he had classes of his own to be at during those times. His next step was to stake out the cafeteria, hoping to catch her when she came to eat. She had to eat sometime, right?

Apparently not. Either someone was bringing her food, she really didn’t need to eat, or… she was sneaking to the kitchens at night.

He decided that the last one was most likely, which was why he was currently camped outside her door. He was _going_ to talk to Bernadetta, and Seiros help anyone who tried to stop him.

\----------

Bernadetta slipped quietly out of her room, and tried to shut the door as silently as possible. Her efforts failed, however, when she saw Felix slumped against a pillar five feet away. She lost her grip on the door, and it closed with a loud thud. This compounded the situation by waking him up, moving things from bad to worse.

He stood up, looking right at her, and she froze. “Bernadetta,” he greeted her. “You’ve been avoiding me.”

“I, uh, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she squeaked, edging back toward her room. She stopped when he abruptly slammed his hand against the wall, his arm blocking her path.

“Shut up! Stop running away. You’ve been avoiding me, and I want to know why,” he said. He paused, and looked away. “...was it something I did?”

“N- n- no! I just… well… your arms…”

His gaze snapped back to her. “What about my arms? I don’t… wait. You saw my arms when you were fixing my sleeve.” She nodded mutely. “That means you saw the flowers.” She nodded again, seemingly unable to do anything else. He sighed. “Yes, I have a soulmate. No, I don’t know who they are. No, I’ve never tried to contact them. Anything else?”

“N- no,” she stuttered, “not that. The flowers… familiar… you… I…” she trailed off.

He narrowed his eyes in confusion, but then they shot wide in shock. With his free hand, he reached for her arm, but stopped when she flinched. Instead, he softly asked, “Will you show me?”

She slowly rolled up her sleeve, revealing a pattern of buds and blooms that he recognized instantly.

“It’s you,” he breathed. He was about to continue, when-

“I’m _sorry_!” she burst out, eyes screwed shut and arms wrapped around herself. She was shaking, he realized. “I’m sorry that it’s me, I know that you’re disappointed, you-

“Bernadetta.”

“-you don’t have to pretend that you care, you don’t need to feel obligated, I’ll-”

“Bernadetta.”

“-I’ll stop painting the flowers, I’ll never bother you again, you don’t have to talk to me, I-”

“ _Bernadetta_.”

“-I won’t tell anyone, you can just forget all about me, I-”

She was cut off by a sudden warmth against her lips, and slowly opened her eyes. Felix was closer than he’d ever been. One of his hands was gently cupping her cheek. Was… was he _kissing_ her?

After a moment, he let go of her and stepped back, a light dusting of pink on his face. “Does that make it clear how I feel about this? I’m not disappointed that it’s you. I…” He looked away, the tips of his ears turning red. “I’d rather it be you than anyone else, Bernadetta.”

“Oh,” she whispered softly.

“But- how do you feel about this, Bernadetta? If you- if you don’t want this, then…”

“Felix.”

He turned and looked straight at her, the intensity of his gaze nearly shattering her resolve. “What?”

She gathered every scrap of courage within her, stepped forward, and pulled him down to kiss her again.


End file.
